Drowning Tomcat
by Aphaeam
Summary: Story Anthology. #7: Some missions have unexpected consequences.
1. Drowning Tomcat

**Drowning Tomcat**

Drabble 1 of 5

Rating: T/PG-13

Summary: Kakashi was a lightweight.

* * *

Social situations with alcohol were a pleasure Kakashi took no part in. He disliked the drunken foolery at dive bars in the heart of the village that agitated his neighbors who then blamed him for his fellow ninjas' antics. Having to apologize for some anonymous chunin whose name Kakashi could not recall for releasing the landlady's chickens in the dead of night was enough to make him wary of his own actions while under the influence of cheap booze.

Kakashi was a lightweight.

But somehow, the jonin found himself sitting next to his former student with a shot of the foulest drink his imagination could have prepared. Sakura smiled at him with her lips lightly pressed on the rim of the bottle he had not even dared to touch beyond her polite offering. She was unaware of her sensual licking of the remnant drops that pooled in condensation on the neck of the bottle.

How is that sexy? Kakashi inwardly cursed, knowing he was already tipsy. When Sakura called the waiter for another bottle he stood and made an excuse about a drowning tomcat. She protested, begging him to stay and joking about his intolerance for alcohol. Seeing her intense gaze, Kakashi accused her of trying to unmask him and sat back down.

Much to his satisfaction, Sakura looked embarrassed for the rest of the evening and did not offer him another drink. Much to hers, he accidentally tugged at his mask when sneaking a morsel of food to his mouth.

Sakura's gasp was fuel to Kakashi's tipsy mind.


	2. Drowning Tomcat 2: Illegible Doodles

**Illegible Doodles**

Drabble 2 of 5

Rating: K+/PG

Summary: Drinking games were dangerous.

* * *

After finishing a difficult mission in Wind Team 7 entered a quaint local inn and were persuaded by the front desk to relax in the bar with a free bottle of sake. Of course, it did not end with one bottle and by the end of the night the ninja had emptied enough bottles for the owner to have their own night out.

Naruto was passed out in a corner booth and Sai was nursing his dreamlike state with illegible doodles on his sketchpad. The drinking game Sakura introduced had claimed two victims, to her knowledge, and only one challenger was left. Kakashi did his best to remain stoic despite being drunk. There was no way he was going to let on that Sakura could drink him under.

But something he said may have compromised that tonight. Her flushed face was hidden behind her glove, but her eyes kept looking at Kakashi. He could tell she was smiling from what he said. Desperately Kakashi tried to remember it, but came up with nothing.

Whatever he said it was not about her forehead. Why could he not remember it?

Suddenly, Sakura reached over to his face and tentatively pulled at his mask.

Kakashi panicked, grabbing her wrists in order to stop her. Did he give her permission to unmask him? Sakura looked disappointed and Kakashi dropped his hands. But she had already been scorned and looked away.

"Sorry..." she laughed nervously and twiddled her thumbs. "It would be wrong to trick you into it when you're drunk anyway..."

From the corner of his eye Kakashi could see Naruto peering over the booth and Sai slying looking up from his sketchpad.

_Damn it._ Kakashi's team knew he was a lightweight.


	3. Drowning Tomcat 3: Forgetting Birthdays

**Forgetting Birthdays**

Drabble 3 of 5

Rating: K+/PG

Summary: Kakashi only pretended to be forgetful, which often led to... situations.

* * *

It was rare for Kakashi to be forgetful. Sure, Team 7 assumed as much; birthdays were a rather tedious affair and he never celebrated his own, but that year all hell broke loose when he chose not to acknowledge Sakura's _special day_.

"SENSEI!" she never raised her voice to him, and this exception was deafening. "I told you yesterday that today is my birthday!"

The kunoichi stood in front of his apartment door, and with some concern Kakashi noted that she bent the knob out of shape with her monstrous strength. Knowing not to show outward distress from the financial impact of her insulted sentimentality, because women targeted such a thing to use as fuel, he kept remote in expression. He would not be moved. He had to save his door.

Sakura pushed him forward and he fell to the floor.

_Damn it._

"Sakura, your friends already showered you with gifts." he picked himself off the floor and pushed her aside. She seemed to _huff_ and _puff_ like Akamaru as he searched for the keys to his apartment. "I don't know what more you want."

This did not settle her at all. "The only person I didn't get a gift from was you!"

Was he required to give her a gift? Did he even know what to give her? One year he actually bothered because of her mother's meddling, and she had been upset about that too. That year he also gave Sasuke a gift because of _Sakura's_ meddling, and neither of them liked the gift either!

"You didn't even wish me a happy birthday!"

Sakura seemed genuinely hurt, and from the look on her face Kakashi was beginning to suspect she eagerly awaited for something from him all day. He scrunched up his face, knowing that he was not getting out of this situation without a scratch so he might as well forget about his door. Sakura was... not Sakura when she was upset. Or at least a version he'd like to not have to deal with; that was usually only reserved for her peers. Not someone she had a professional relationship with. What student yells at their teacher?

Kakashi blanked and recalled one incident of forgetfulness he tried to forget, the night in Wind when he blurted out something he could no longer recall. That was a lapse in judgment when he tried to prove to his student that he was not a lightweight like she may have suspected.

Sakura kept staring at him expectantly; from that day she had acted as if their entire relationship had changed. An irreversible development.

What the hell was it that he said?


	4. Drowning Tomcat 4: Not Only Words

**Not Only Words**

Drabble 4 of 5

Rating: K+/PG

Summary: Kakashi has to face Sakura eventually.

* * *

Avoiding Sakura was all about retaining both Kakashi's dignity and his livelihood. From his lack of tolerance, to whatever he said while drunk, and her birthday... it was reason enough to go on any mission until the storm calmed. Unfortunately, there were no missions to be had.

Kakashi had his pride too though; he considered moving away and figured that would be as if she had won. Not that it was some sort of competition.

Still, it bothered him that he had no idea what he told her.

Kurenai had a simple suggestion.

"Why don't you ask?" she said when he took to hiding at her apartment one day. "Hiding from her isn't going to fix anything."

"She'll forget eventually. Or give up."

Kurenai laughed, either at Kakashi or her child's sweet smile while she played with her. "Sakura came by the other day looking for you."

Okay, she _was_ laughing at Kakashi.

"What did you say?"

Kurenai smirked.

"Kakashi!"

The jonin balked at the sound of his student's voice and glared accusingly at his friend. Sakura rushed into the yard before he could move, and he wondered just how she caught him by surprise. He did not even want to think about it.

"We need to talk." Sakura said.

That was never, ever a good thing to hear from a woman. Beaten, he left the yard and walked by her in the street. Plotting. The alleyway looked promising. He was sure he could outrun her on the roofs. Hell, he could just knock her out, but that would just make it worse.

Kakashi realized that they had said nothing for a few minutes. Eventually, Sakura began to speak.

"Do you hate me?" she asked.

He knew what to say! "No."

But that was really all Kakashi had.

"Are you angry?"

_Yes?_ It really depended what she meant. Scared was more likely; what he did not know about that night frightened him.

"Were you lying?" Sakura began to trip over her words, looking every bit as worried as Kakashi felt. They stopped, and stared at each other desperately curious and fearful of what the other would say.

Kakashi felt like an overemotional woman. This had to stop.

"Lying about what I said that night?" he asked. Kakashi had an opportunity here; Sakura was not the most observant in social situations. He could do this. He could get what he said out of her.

"About... _that_."

_Women_. Kakashi was angry at the vagueness of their language. He wondered how much damage would be done if he slipped through that alleyway and towards freedom.

Instead he shrugged his shoulders. "What do you _think_ I meant?"

Sakura bit her lip nervously. "I don't know. Kakashi, what you said was cruel!"

Oh, so it _was_ about her forehead. Kakashi had been sure that was not what it was. _Wait a minute_. She was smiling after he said whatever it was he said. How could what he possibly said been cruel?

"I don't understand."

"You said... you _said_..."

Something in her eyes clued him in. She looked at him pleadingly, almost _flirting_.

Oh this was far first than broadcasting her forehead to the world in a drunken stupor. Far worst than giving her a ribbon for her birthday. Far worse than giving Sasuke an _Icha, Icha_ book.

It did not matter what he said, because whatever it was _had_ changed their relationship. Sakura no longer looked at him like a teacher.

And he did not want to change that.

But he had to.


	5. Drowning Tomcat 5: Good Girl

**Good Girl**

Drabble 5 of 5

Rating: T/PG-13

Summary: Kakashi learns what he really said that night.

* * *

It had all been a mistake; a slip of tongue, whatever he said, changed Kakashi's relationship with Sakura forever. After her birthday she had pursued him almost relentlessly. Now it appeared as if they would never see each other again.

It was for the best.

A week after Kakashi had last seen Sakura slip away from his sight in the street he had an unsettling dream. He had still been awake, but what else could it have been? A hallucination? That was foolish. It was a completely willful wondering.

And it made Kakashi feel so dirty. Thinking about his former student, even if she was his former now ___adult_ student, thinking about her naked and on top of him... Kakashi would not even confide with Kurenai of such a thing.

It was a phase. Kakashi was sure that at some point Sakura had fantasized about him. It was common; and it was normal for him to think about her. She was... ___hot_.

After he well... ___finished_ what he was doing Kakashi sat in silence as he went over his report for a previous mission. It was not like him to check for spelling errors with such precision, but he had little to do.

Five minutes into it Kakashi found himself staring at the clock. It was about this time that Sakura would be getting off of her shift at the hospital. She lived close enough to where he was bound to run into her eventually. Kakashi was not about to move of course, he had his pride, but he would continue avoiding her like she avoided him for at least a little while longer.

But he could not stop thinking about Sakura, and it was boring sitting in this room all day!

With little else to do he decided to risk being seen so he could see her. Kakashi was not going to disillusion himself; looking at the back of Sakura's head for a brief second every other day was upsetting. He wanted to see her, and it was not healthy to entertain his current fantasy...

But it was ___he_ who had these fantasies. Sakura had said it was cruel. Sure, she smiled, but Sakura found admirers flattering. The reason she was running was so as not to embarrass either of them. He could only imagine how little she thought of him right now... especially after he insulted her just to keep her away and thinking about him in a non-romantic fashion.

Ten minutes later and Kakashi was sitting in the corner of a large restaurant with a newspaper shielding his face from view. Sakura was meeting with Ino, it appeared. This ruined his mood; two young women never talked about anything interesting.

Ino looked up from her cup of tea with a taunting smile.

"How long are you two going to avoid each other?"

Never mind, two young women only talked about anything interesting.

Sakura turned her head away in frustration, whispering something about secrets and uncomfortable topics. Her voice got lower and Kakashi had to lean in across the table to get every word.

"I just do not understand why he started to make fun of my forehead when I went to confront him about it..." the kunoichi practically hissed. "Kaka- ___he_ is a lightweight. In Wind he told me that sleeping with me would be on the table."

_Oh no,_ did he really say that? Kakashi physically smacked himself, and it was lucky that only an elderly woman turned to look at him with a worried frown.

"But then he said-"

"That your his student and he could not cross the line...?" Ino finished, expecting only the most boring response.

Kakashi figured the conversation was just going to be too much to bear from that point on. It went without saying that even drunk and in that state Kakashi would know what to say to discourage this, even if he was being candid. Kakashi did not peg Sakura as someone who would have been disappointed that her sensei would refuse to sleep with her on grounds of morality. She seemed like such a _good_ girl.

Kakashi began to sit up and make his way out the door when he heard Sakura respond.

"What? _Nothing like that!_" she practically shouted, seeming to giggle a little nervously. "He told me it would be embarrassing to sleep with a girl who could drink him under. It would feel like he was being taken advantage of!"

Kakashi dropped the paper covering his face and only narrowly avoided being seen by Ino.

"_Kakashi does not like drunk sex?_" the Yamanaka asked, seemingly offended, but now _quite_ interested in the conversation.

"___Ssh!_" Sakura made a face from her mentioning his name before adding: "Who likes drunk sex, Ino? Who?"

Ino rolled her eyes in a way that suggested everyone did.

Kakashi wondered how this could go anywhere good. It was beyond what he expected have said that night.

"So I told him we could... we could..."

"You told Kakashi you'd sleep with him _sober_? What did he say?"

Sakura '___Ssh!_'ed Ino, who looked every bit happily scandalized, again for saying his name before her head dropped to the table.

"It's like he refuses to acknowledge he even said it. The moment after I agreed he just went... blank. His face looked conflicted... haunted!"

Ino began to pat her friend on the back, but soon Sakura began to cry. They were quiet sobs, but a few patrons of the restaurant turned around and glared at Ino accusingly until they heard mention of a man, in which case they ___Ooohed_ and ___Ahhhed_ before blaming men for all the errs of the world.

"At first I thought, '_Wow, someone thinks I'm sexy!_' but then I realized that not even someone as perverted as he was would be willing to sleep with me. Ino, am I really that disgusting?"

_Perverted?_ Kakashi found that rude. Just how exactly did his students see him?

Sakura continued. "Is my forehead that large? Do you think it would bother men in bed, do you think-"

The Yamanaka stood. "If he's drunk enough he won't even be able to see it."

She seemed to be referring to what Kakashi told his former student just a week ago...

"___INO!_" Sakura screamed. "Just what are you saying?"

"I'm saying..." Ino plopped down some ryo for their tea and plates. "That you need to get him drunk again."

"But he still won't sleep with me!"

"I did not know it wasn't just a lonely night's offering. I guess you really want it too!"

Sakura's cheeks flared. Relationship changed. _Forever._

Kakashi decided it was time to go. Two young women never talked about anything that was safe for men to hear. He could see the way their minds were directing themselves to pure evil. They were plotting to play him. And he wanted it to happen. He had to stop it.

But Kakashi had a feeling he would purposefully slip against her tactics.


	6. Guard Duty

**Guard Duty**

Independent Drabble

Rating: K+/PG

Summary: Sakura is surprised to find Kakashi on guard duty with her.

* * *

"What are you doing here?" Sakura asked, expecting Genma. "Tsunade-shishou _never_ assigns you to guard duty!"

Kakashi leaned back against the wall of the watchtower, hardly bothering to even _look_ as if he were guarding the village. He yawned once before turning a page of _Icha, Icha_.

"Keep your eyes on the horizon." Kakashi warned, to which Sakura found herself turning red and looking back to the forest. A minute later and two pages he pointed down at the gate where a small child and his mother were waiting to be let in, waving their cards into the air. Sakura had not even seen them, but was quick to quietly open the smaller gate door to let the two civilians in. They flashed her a smile, but upon seeing the distracted Kakashi frowned and quickly walked towards their home. Kakashi rolled his eyes at the two retreating in the distance. "Really should get back before midnight..."

Sakura stared at him with a hard look. "I don't remember why shishou never assigns you guard duty. Can you tell me?"

Kakashi ignored her. "I won't say."

She was confused. "Is it restricted information? Kakashi-sensei, that does not even make sense."

The jonin shrugged his shoulders and continued reading. There was a reason, but Sakura just could not remember it.

Normally the kunoichi would engage in some conversation with whomever she was on guard duty with, but tonight would have been pointless. Kakashi seemed to barely register as a vigilant human being, even if he did see the villagers at the gate before her.

"Does it make you tired?" Sakura asked an hour in when even the frogs and crickets stopped chirping; the dead of night. "I never took you for a guy who needed to be in bed at a certain time."

She could see the vague outlines of his face making an offended expression underneath his mask.

"How old are you going to be this year?"

Kakashi had enough, silencing her with a raised hand. "I'll be leaving in a few minutes..."

Sakura stared at him again. His shift would have been over when hers was...

Genma turned the corner a few streets ahead and waved to the tower. Kakashi motioned back and began to descend the stairs. Sakura remained at the lookout but leaned over the railing towards the inside of the village.

They began whispering and Sakura could not make out what was being said. She was growing angrier and angrier.

Suddenly, as if he were psychic, Kakashi said to Sakura: "You need to open the gate."

The kunoichi looked back out and saw a tired genin team and their instructor waiting. She opened the door again and they rushed inside, but the instructor stopped and scowled at Kakashi and Genma.

"What are you doing here?" he said. Sakura realized that he was one of the regulars who guarded the village, though she never served with him. "I thought Tsunade forbid you to guard the gate after last time?"

Sakura's curiosity, but mostly her anger, was just too much. He was not supposed to be on guard duty? What was he doing here?

"Last time?" Genma asked, quirking his brow. "You didn't tell me that when I asked you to cover me for the first half of tonight."

Kakashi shrugged his shoulders. "I figured Sakura would not tell. Right Sakura?"

_Oh hell no._ "I'll leave a note with Tsunade-shishou in the morning if you don't tell me what happened to get you off of guard duty!"

Frankly... she wanted that luxury. Guard duty was by far the most excruciatingly boring job in the village. Especially when the partner you were assigned with spent most of his time reading a dirty book.

The instructor _huffed_. "Hatake-san _never_ takes it seriously. The civilians think he's blowing it off."

Sakura recalled the worried look the mother gave as she passed.

"A chunin snuck past him once." he said afterward.

Kakashi found that offensive. "Kiba is hardly a threat to the village. There is no need to log... whatever it is he does out in the forest at night."

The face he made suggested Kakashi had an idea, but Sakura could not even imagine it.

"I figured I'd save his dignity." Kakashi ended defensively.

"Well that's clear shot." the instructor said. "Unfortunately for _Kiba,_ I took the matter seriously."

"You nearly tore off the boy's arm."

"He was sneaking in and out of the village! He could have been an agent!"

The exchange went on for another minute, but it was mostly the instructor that fired _on_ and _on_ about Kakashi's irresponsibility. Eventually Sakura's former teacher had enough.

"You're right. I should leave now." he said. "But it would be _inconvenient_ if the village were to be infiltrated by a lonely Inuzaka. You should take over for me."

The instructor sent his students off. "I'll report you in the morning."

Kakashi rolled his eyes. "Genma was just going to take over for Sakura, here. We'll leave you."

Sakura and Genma began to speak, but Kakashi grabbed the Kunoichi's hand and led her off before anything could be said. When they were out of sight Sakura pulled away from him.

"What was that all about?" She still did not completely understand what happened, other than Kakashi and Genma were breaking the rules by exchanging favors so Genma could get off guard duty. But why drag her away?

"That guy will probably report me in the morning."

"Exactly! Do you want to incur Tsunade's wrath?" Sakura found it particularly devastating in the morning. "Couldn't you have just lied and said she forgave you?"

"Yes."

Well, at least Sakura had faith in him doing the right thing. But this did not seem to be the right thing.

"But then you would have reported me."

Sakura nodded and then stopped.

"You... You had _Genma_ 'take over' for me just so you could say I skipped out too?" Why did she not see it for what it was? "Kakashi-sensei... I'll, I'll-"

Sakura had no idea what she was going to do, but as they continued walking along the road towards one of the late-night food stalls she saw his _Icha, Icha_ poke out like temptation from his back pocket and began to formulate a plan.


	7. Magnetism

**Magnetism**

Independent Drabble

Rating: K+/PG

Summary: Some missions have unexpected consequences.

* * *

The enemy ninja was charging his chakra, and Naruto and Sai were already stuck in the magnetic field he had created. Sakura looked at them to see if she could free them but was disappointed to find that she could not. Naruto kept clawing at the sides of the field anyway, while Sai considered his options carefully.

Kakashi caught her eye from the other side of the battlefield, and they nodded, understanding that they needed to get the enemy nin down now before they too were captured.

They both began to rush forward, Kakashi preparing a chidori and Sakura moving to crush the ground beneath the nin to disorient him.

In his confusion, the enemy ninja's chakra diffused like a torrent, and Kakashi and Sakura were thrown off balance too. They fell slipped and fell backward, hitting the ground painfully.

It took a moment for Kakashi and Sakura to regain their balance, and when they did they smirked. The enemy ninja had been incapacitated by his own diffusion of chakra, unconcious on the ground.

Sakura turned to give her other teammates a thumbs up but felt something strange... a pull that began to bring her forward. She freaked out, even screamed a little, because there was no way this should be happening. Sakura called to Kakashi, but was upset when she saw that he was being pulled by the mysterious magnetic force as well.

In fact, they were being pulled at a faster rate as they got closer to each other.

_Frightenly_ quick. As if...

They were magnetically attracted to each other!

Both Konoha ninja threw out there arms in panic, or was it instinct? Within ten feet of each other they could no longer control their bodies at all, and struggled to get any part to move.

They crashed against each other with such force that the wind was knocked out of them, but they stopped moving. Neither were dead, so they figured they could get out of the situation. Surprisingly, Sakura could move her body a bit... but not much. She could not free herself from Kakashi's... embrace? How did that happen? Oh, the outstretched arms.

Oh! She was doing it too! How embarrassing! She could hear Naruto's guffaws from where she was clearer than she wanted to. Sakura was not faced to him, but she figured that Kakashi glared at him, because he suddenly got quiet.

Sakura looked up to tell Kakashi she was okay, and he looked down to tell her something too. That had been a bad idea, because their heads, her's on his chest and his on top of her head, were suddenly attracted to each other! Their faces pulled toward the other, and their lips met.

The laughing started again, and neither were able to move even a little bit from the magnetism of the kiss.


End file.
